belgrade, serbia
AP
—
Thousands of protesters in Serbia erected a symbolic human shield around a bombed-out military facility on Tuesday, vowing to protect it from redevelopment as a luxury complex by a company linked to US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Youth-led protesters drew a red line around vast buildings in the capital Belgrade, which were partially destroyed in a 1999 NATO bombing campaign. The site faces demolition and redevelopment under a plan backed by President Aleksandar Vučić’s populist government.
The $500 million project to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops on the site has faced fierce opposition from Serbian citizens as well as national and international experts. But last week, Serbian lawmakers passed a special law paving the way for construction despite legal hurdles.
Vučić’s pro-Trump administration claims the project will boost the economy and foster relations with the US administration, which has imposed a 35% tariff on Serbian imports. It also imposed sanctions on Serbia’s monopoly oil supplier controlled by Russia.
But critics say the building is an architectural monument and seen as a symbol of resistance to the US-led NATO bombing, which is still widely seen as an unwarranted “invasion” in the Balkans.
Last year, the Serbian government stripped the complex of its protected status and signed a 99-year lease with Kushner-linked Affinity Global Development in the United States. But doubts have been raised about the redevelopment project after Serbia’s organized crime prosecutors launched an investigation into whether the documents used to strip him of his status were forged.
These buildings are considered prime examples of mid-20th century architecture in the former Yugoslavia. Protesters demanded that the complex’s protected heritage status be restored and the buildings rebuilt.
“This is a warning that we will all protect these buildings together,” one student said. “We will be your human shield.”
The issue is the latest flashpoint in years of street protests that have undermined Vučić’s tight grip on power. Protesters accuse the government of rampant corruption in state projects. The protests began after a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in the northern city of Novi Sad, which was undergoing renovations, killing 16 people.
Tens of thousands of people in Novi Sad celebrated the anniversary of the tragedy on November 1st.
Serbia was bombed for 78 days in 1999 to force then-President Slobodan Milosevic to end his crackdown on separatist Albanians in Kosovo. Anti-NATO sentiment remains strong in Serbia, and the US role in renovating military facilities is particularly sensitive to many Serbs.
Earlier this year, the government of Albania, another Balkan nation, approved a $1.6 billion plan from Mr. Kushner’s company to develop a luxury resort on a communist-era fortress island on the Adriatic coast.
